Is this the poker world?Ada thief!

Chapter 1701 Big Brother, do you think my hammer is cool?

"Brother [Oboro]!"

The Black Feathers cried out anxiously upon seeing Hayato's monster's movements, but the giant foot that had already stomped down shattered the earth, causing cracks to spread like a spider web, and also stirred up a considerable amount of dust, enveloping the location of Black Feather - Shadow of Karma.

How could [Black Feather - Shadow of Karma], with only 400 base points, possibly withstand the direct attack of [Earthbound Prisoner - Earth Painting Golan Forest], who has an attack power of 2000? In the minds of the [Black Feathers], their leader [Black Feather - Shadow of Karma] had definitely been killed by Hayato.

"Damn it!" [Black Feather - Abellowhorus of Tremor] had already woken up during Hayato's duel with [Black Feather - Kazekage of the Shadow], and seeing [Black Feather - Kazekage of the Shadow] being killed, he couldn't wait to rush towards Hayato with his weapon.

"Stop right there, [Shockwave]!" While there were impulsive individuals like [Black Feather - Shockwave Abellowhorus], there were also those within [Black Feather] who remained calm, such as [Black Feather - Great Banner of Vayu] and [Black Feather - Rogue Vatah]. Almost the instant [Black Feather - Shockwave Abellowhorus] made his move, they grabbed him, demanding, "What are you doing!"

"Of course, I'm reporting for Brother [Longying]—"

Before [Black Feather - Abel Rohorus of Tremors] could finish his sentence, [Black Feather - Rogue of Fatah] interrupted him: "Fool, do you think [Oboro] initiated the duel to challenge that guy for this reason! Do you want him to sacrifice himself in vain!"

"You've tried before, how could you possibly be a match for that guy!" [Black Feather - Great Banner's Strike] added, "Don't humiliate Brother [Oboro]'s death with such a pointless sacrifice!"

"Then what do you expect me to do? Just stand by and watch?!"

[Black Feather - Abelororos of Tremor] immediately retorted. Not only that, [Black Feather - Zoda of Night] beside him also picked up his sword and walked out. [Black Feather - Fayu of the Great Banner] and [Black Feather - Fatah of the Rogue] couldn't stop him. "At least, I will never slink away!"

Just now, the fact that [Black Feather - Abel Rohorus of Tremor] was restrained helped to control the emotions of the [Black Feather]s, preventing them from losing their minds and recklessly rushing forward to fight Hayato to the death because of the death of [Black Feather - Karma of Shadow]. However, the actions of [Black Feather - Zoda of Night] set a precedent, making the other [Black Feather]s restless, and also making those who could still maintain their rationality, such as [Black Feather - Fayu of the Great Banner] and [Black Feather - Fatah of the Rogue], extremely anxious.

"You can't win against that guy." [Black Feather - Rogue Vata] hadn't forgotten the fighting power Hayato had shown before. Not only did he instantly defeat [Black Feather - Poisonous Wind Simon], [Black Feather - Tremor Abellowhorus], and [Black Feather - Nightfall Zoda], but he could also conjure up allies to fight alongside him. I've never heard of any Pokémon having such an ability.
"No, in the end, is this guy really an elf like us?" [Blackfeather - Great Banner of Fayu] and [Blackfeather - Rogue of Fata] whispered to each other. "Warrior race? Telekinetic race? Mage race?"

“I think it’s more like a demon. Didn’t you see that the monsters that guy used in the duel just now were all demon monsters?” After a pause, [Black Feather - Rogue Vata] added, “Although there were dragon and telekinetic monsters as well, they don’t look like the opponent’s true form at all.”

"So what race is this guy? To be honest, I think he's not an elf like us, but someone who came from another world." [Black Feather - Great Banner of the Warrior] was speaking when he suddenly froze.

[Black Feather - Great Banner of Fayu] and [Black Feather - Rogue of Fatah] exchanged a glance and suddenly said in unison, "From another world?" "Could it be... humans?"

At this moment, [Black Feather - Zoda of the Night], who had charged at Hayato for the second time, had already crossed most of the open space and arrived at the arena where the duel had just taken place. Even though Hayato's monsters had not disappeared after the duel ended but remained on the field, he fearlessly raised his sword and pointed it at Hayato: "I will make you pay for the revenge of Brother [Oboro] in blood!"

"Huh?" Hayato raised an eyebrow. "Leaving aside how this blood debt came about, it was clearly [Black Feather - Shadow of Karma] that challenged me first. Am I supposed to just let it kill me without fighting back?"

"In the end, what right do you [Black Feather] have to talk about 'revenge' after you seized our territory, drove us to this marginal area, and even chased us to continue invading us!?" Behind Hayato, the combatants among the [Harpies] who still had some fighting strength had recovered from the brief battle and regrouped their forces, standing behind Hayato.

Not to mention that the three harpy sisters had already explained to the harpy queen that Hayato was a powerful being they couldn't afford to offend, and that even though Hayato didn't intend to help, he still fought the Black Feathers and helped the harpies a lot—just because they had more than one card that allowed them to enslave griffins as mounts, I had to lend a hand!
"A bunch of defeated wretches dare to show their faces?" [Black Feather - Abel Rohoros of Shock] stepped forward. "If it weren't for this hateful fellow, you would all be dead by now!"

"They're so arrogant just because we're not here!" The three harpy sisters stepped forward, revealing their already equipped electric whips and electronic bodysuits, and boosted their power to its maximum.

While the power of [Black Feather - Shocking Abellowhorus] is extremely effective against [Harpies], its effect comes at the cost of weakening its own attack power. Therefore, the best way to deal with it is to use the [Harp Sisters], who can suppress the opponent even without equipment.

Despite losing the leadership of [Black Feather - Shadow of Karma], the actual combat strength of the [Black Feather] side has not been reduced much. Even if the [Harp Sisters] come back to support, it will not affect the battle situation too much. So the key is still Hayato's next move.

Just as the two sides were locked in a standoff over Hayato and a battle seemed imminent, a voice suddenly rang out: "Stop it, both of you!"

Hearing the sound, [Black Feather - Zoda of the Night] looked over and saw the unharmed figure of [Black Feather - Karma Wind of the Shadow] in the dissipating dust. He exclaimed in surprise, "Brother [Shadow]?! You're not dead?"

Almost all of the [Black Feather] members immediately retreated to protect [Black Feather - Shadow of Karma]. The [Harpies] did not need to follow his orders and remained on guard. [Black Feather - Tremor of Abel-Lohorus] either did not hear [Black Feather - Shadow of Karma]'s voice or not, and even though the others had retreated, he was still raising his weapon to attack the other side.

[Black Feather - Shadow of Karma] immediately shouted again, "[Shockwave], what are you doing!"

[Black Feather - Abel Lothroes of Tremor] froze, looking around before realizing that everyone else had already retreated, leaving him still preparing to attack the [Harpies]. With an embarrassed expression, he turned to see [Black Feather - Shadow of Karma] and awkwardly smiled ingratiatingly, "Brother [Shadow], do you think my hammer looks good?"

Meanwhile, Harpy Sister 1, one of the Harpies, cautiously approached Hayato after seeing the Black Feathers' actions. Despite the wary gaze of Mizuki from the Temple beside Hayato, she braced herself and asked Hayato, "Why didn't the Black Feathers die after you wiped out their Life Points and lost the duel?"

"So, when did you get the illusion that I wiped out his Life Points?" Hayato raised an eyebrow. "I'm the most compassionate duelist, how could I bear to kill someone so easily?" "Especially since he revealed all the cards he was using." Saying that, Hayato waved the extra card in his hand, [Black Feather - Shadow of Karma].

In the past, Hayato's system had an extremely rigid system for determining victory; a duel victory was required for the outcome to be decided. Situations like Kaiba nearly losing in Duel Kingdom and then running away, or Yusei's "pulling the screw" incident in the future, would prevent a victory from being decided. However, this system was optimized a long time ago.

Once it is confirmed that the opponent has no means of resistance and Hayato is only one step away from victory, the system will determine Hayato as the winner regardless of whether Hayato chooses to give up or the opponent flees the duel. This is to prevent the duel from being interrupted by someone else or by unexpected situations like Kaiba Noa.

Hayato had just ended the duel by having [Earthbound Prisoner - Earth Painting Golanlin] put his foot down after the system determined that Hayato had won. After all, he could tell that [Black Feather - Oboro no Karma] was the leader of these [Black Feathers]. Taking care of him was no problem, but Hayato hadn't forgotten that he still needed to investigate the situation of the [Black Feathers]. It would be more convenient to keep [Black Feather - Oboro no Karma] alive.

In particular, Hayato has already obtained the Duel Monster Card of [Blackwing - Shadow of Karma] itself from the cards dropped by [Blackwing - Shadow of Karma].

While the strength of [Blackwing - Shadow of Karma] mainly lies in its ability to create a Link 3 without self-restriction, and its performance in both Fusion and Synchro Summoning doesn't quite live up to its "banned" status, one point needs special mention:

"What do you mean, Brother [Oboro], your card was taken by that guy!?" Among the [Black Feather]s, the loud voice of [Black Feather - Abellowhorus of Shock] rang out.

"It wasn't stolen, and I can't really explain what happened. Anyway, my own cards, which weren't even in my deck, disappeared when I was about to lose the duel, and then, as you all saw, that human had my cards in his hand." [Black Feather - Shadow of Karma] sighed, "I'm afraid that's why he spared my life."

"So he really is human!" Although [Kuroba - Great Banner of the Brave] and [Kuroba - Rogue of the Brave] had already guessed Hayato's possible identity, they were still extremely surprised to hear [Kuroba - Shadow of the Karma] give a definite answer.

—After all, this is the Elf Realm, not the Human Realm. Before today, although the elves knew that there were many humans in another world that could summon their power, most elves had never seen even a living human. Even when Hayato appeared in front of them, they only thought he was an elf of the Warrior, Psychic, Mage, or even Dragon races.

"So you should thank me, okay? Although you've lost your freedom from now on, you still have your life, don't you?" Hayato waved his hand, and under the gaze of the [Black Feathers], [Black Feather - Shadow of Karma] reluctantly walked towards Hayato and flew into the card in Hayato's hand.

Although no one died, the life points of [Kuroba - Oboro no Kage no Kaze] that Hayato eliminated during the duel were real.

Although the dueling rules in the Spirit World are not like those of Dark Games, where damage in a duel is reflected one-to-one as real damage, only causing extremely intense pain and then directly killing one side after the duel, Hayato managed to adjust the duel's ruling through his masterful micro-management. [Black Feather - Shadow of Karma]'s life was saved, and it even became a Spirit in Hayato's cards. However, the damage it suffered remained, causing [Black Feather - Shadow of Karma] to be weak for a considerable period, forcing it to return to the cards to heal.

However, [Black Feather - Shadow of Karma] has already explained the matter to the [Black Feathers]. The remaining [Black Feathers] will fully cooperate with Hayato's actions, answering all questions and fulfilling all requests. They will also withdraw from the territory of the [Harpies].

'A happy ending for everyone, achieved so easily! As expected, I, Kobayashi Hayato, am the most compassionate duelist~'

Just as Hayato was feeling triumphant, his Crimson Demon, which was still on the field, suddenly became agitated and resisted the card that was calling out to him to bind it back.

"Roar!" Not only that, the Crimson Lotus Demon also punched the ground, venting its dissatisfaction and anger with violence and flames. The Harpies and Black Feathers were all confused about what had suddenly gone mad about this dragon beast and retreated in all directions!
"What the hell! Hey, human!" After [Black Feather - Great Banner of War] left, [Black Feather - Shadow of Karma] took on the temporary leadership due to its cleverness. While ordering its comrades to retreat quickly, it questioned Hayato, "Although Brother [Shadow of Karma] told us to listen to you for the time being, we will retaliate if you let your Pokémon attack us like this!"

"They've affected us too!" the Harpy Queen shouted urgently. "Why did they suddenly attack all of us?!"

"I didn't make it act. It's just that since there's no longer an opponent to deal with, this guy is getting restless because I just strengthened him." Hayato frowned at [Crimson Lotus Demon], saying unhappily, "After arriving in the Spirit World and discovering that you can materialize independently, you think you can rebel against me? Well then—"

"Endless War God, emerge!"

One by one, elves appeared beside Hayato, from [Dark Knight Gaia] to the makeshift [Disruptor], from the magic-savvy [Summoner Aleister] to the shadow-manipulating [Shadowy Midrash]. In an instant, the elves released by Hayato alone transformed into an entire army, surrounding [Crimson Lotus Demon]. Hayato himself then directly entered [Hero's Derivative] mode and walked straight towards [Crimson Lotus Demon].

The appearance of the other spirits was to provide support for Hayato, to subdue the rebellious "Crimson Demon," but Hayato felt he had to take matters into his own hands.

"Oh!"

Before the fist wreathed in flames could even strike the ground, Hayato grabbed the right arm of [Crimson Demon]. [Crimson Demon] tried to pull, but found that Hayato's hand didn't budge at all!?
"Hoo, hoo? (Hey, can we make peace?)"

"At this moment? You must be joking, right?" Hayato looked at the Crimson Demon, who was swallowing hard and looking scared, and smiled. "I really need to whip you with a copper-headed leather belt until you spin like a top."

　I was originally planning to do some practice today and use up a leave slip first, but after thinking about it, I decided to update one more chapter and do the practice tomorrow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)